Latest Blogs

We asked you what you thought of the way we communicate with you and you’ve given us some great feedback to make this even better. Our marketing and communications manager Ben Payne explains the results and what happens next.

Part of our five-year vision is to focus on customers, communities and homes with listening, engaging and supporting you being among some of the main themes.

Communications is crucial to our work and nearly 400 of you responded to surveys about its effectiveness sent out in our magazines and posted on our websites.

Severnside Housing customer Tom Prior spent a week’s work experience with our marketing and communications team. He doesn’t mind people knowing he has Asperger’s and autism, in fact, he is actively championing the fact that having these things does not get in the way of his life and career aspirations.

Our approach to customer involvement and engagement is hugely important to our Group and has just celebrated its first birthday. Peter Phillips, chair of our Homes Board, which oversees the work of our housing associations, explains how your voice has helped transform the services we provide.

I value the opportunity to meet with customers to hear their views and recently attended an event at our Shrewsbury office to do just that which was both informative and enjoyable.

When Katie was invited to view a family home in Kinver, she had no idea that it was a property with very special memories for her family.

"The day I got the call about the viewing I called my nan to tell her the good news,” explains Katie. “When I said that the home was in Kinver, she asked about the address and that’s when the penny dropped for all of us."

Katie and her family were about to visit the home which had been first occupied by her grandparents Ken and Roz when it was built half a century ago.

We’re taking part in a consultation to help shape the future of social housing. Our policy, research and new initiatives manager Tony Price explains what it’s all about and how you can get involved.

The Government have published a Social Housing Green Paper setting out their thinking for the future of housing. Ideas in Green Paper’s often end up as legislation or strategy so this gives us a good overview of where the current Government want housing to go.

The Green Paper is wide-ranging and covers a lot of diverse subjects. It does have five principles:

Allen Davies has been working for Care Plus since July, providing At Home care in Shropshire. He has been zipping around on two wheels, not four.

“I joined Care Plus in July, having previously worked for another care company. I love my work now; it’s a fantastic place to work.

You can tell that Care Plus is managed by people who have worked in care and understand what it is like to do the job. It’s the little things that make all the difference. For instance I’m given time to travel between care visits and paid for that time.

Neighbourhoods’ director Jan Goode attended the National Housing Federation conference last week when Prime Minister Teresa May announced £2 billion of funding for affordable homes from 2022. In her blog, Jan describes the difference this will make to the Group’s work.

Any significant funding to help secure money for social housing developments is a real boost, including here in the West Midlands.